26 January 2014 2:07 PM

In June 1863, travellers set off by train on the trip of a lifetime: Thomas Cook's first conducted tour of Switzerland. A century and a half later, Diccon Bewes - bestselling author of Swiss Watching - decided to retrace the original Cook's tour, following in the footsteps of this intrepid group. Slow Train To Switzerland (Nicholas Brealey, £18.99) is a delightful account of his journey. To order your copy of Slow Train To Switzerland at the special price of £16.99 with free P&P, visit mailbookshop.co.uk or call 0844 472 4157.

16 January 2014 12:05 PM

For once, ITV weather presenter Sian Lloyd isn't reporting on grey skies and rain clouds... although after a day in Adelaide's 'lung-burning' heat, she might be longing for them.

The South Australia metropolis has seen the most extreme end of the country's current heatwave.

Ms Lloyd, who's in town to watch the Santos Tour Down Under cycle race, where our own Olympian Sir Chris Hoy will be honoured, told MailOnline Travel that the heat was a force to be reckoned with.

'I stepped off the India Pacific train from Sydney and was sent reeling by a blast of heat that could knock a Tour Down Under cyclist off his bike. Today, Adelaide was the hottest city on earth at 44C. Even 35C at midnight!'

So how does a lady who's paid to be mindful of the weather deal with such hairdryer heat?

'We're camping out at the coolest air-conditioned restaurants and coffee bars in town,' she says.

The snap above was taken at Celsius, an apt place for dinner...but it seems it's not just the blazing sun that has Sian's attention...

'It doesn't help that there are so many hot Tour Down Under cyclists in town,' she adds.

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27 December 2013 1:55 PM

As 2014 dawns and we finally awake from the post-Christmas meat coma, we shall all be promising to improve ourselves during the year ahead.

Whether it's the aim to lose weight, have more adventures or travel further, there's one programme which is aiming to tap into those New Year resolutions and inspire us to challenge ourselves like never before.

Channel 5's new travel show Go Hard or Go Home will take 16 members of the British public to try some of the most gruelling endurance races in the world.

For those struggling to get into that New Year fitness routine, the sight of regular Britons attacking the World's Toughest Canoe Race in Texas, a 71-mile triathlon in California and The Bone Breaker cycle race across the Pyrenees should make hitting the gym that little bit easier.

The travel series, which will air from January 13 at 8pm, will be hosted by Hannah White, one of the country's most accomplished sailors, as she puts the contestants through their paces in order to prepare them for their adventures.

Having crossed the Atlantic three times herself, White should be well placed to inspire the group, which includes a doctor, pub landlord and even some Women's Institute members, to reach their goals.

While the scenery is set to be beautiful, the races will certainly put people through their paces. The Pyrenees cycle race starts and finishes in the Spanish town of Sabiñánigo at the foot of the mountains and covers 128 miles. Contestants will be pushed to their limit as they endure a climb of more than 11,482ft.

Those taking part in The World's Toughest Canoe Race, will be paddling 262 miles across Texas from San Marcos to Seadrift and will have to take everything they need, including food, with them as only water and ice are supplied en route.

White told the Radio Times: 'My dream with this project is to give people the opportunity to experience the incredible life defining moments I’ve been lucky enough to have when competing,” said solo sailor White, who’s crossed the Atlantic three times.'

Jason Wells, Channel 5 acting commissioning executive for factual and features comments, added: 'It’s really important to show our regular viewers that the opportunity to completely change their lives for the better is possible for all of them.'

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It is famous for its holiday parks and self-catering accommodation, but Butlins has taken a new direction in recent years, opening several hotels at its Bognor Regis site.

Now the historic family holiday brand wants to build on its success with a new £20million resort hotel in Minehead.

The company will submit ambitious proposals to add a hotel to the holiday park to West Somerset Council in January.

The Minehead resort is already going through a £16million makeover to improve the standard of holiday accommodation offered.

Locals keen to see the plans will have a chance to hear more about the hotel and redevelopment project at an exhibition in the Ballroom of The Hobby Horse on the Esplanade in Minehead on January 8. The plans will then be submitted to the council.

The proposal (which includes the hotel visual above) follows success at Butlins Bognor Regis, where the premium Ocean Hotel (pictured top), child-friendly Shoreline Hotel and the newest Wave Hotel, which opened in 2012 and is aimed at 'tweens' with plenty of electronic entertainment, have caused a surge in bookings.

Butlins Minehead’s managing director, Julian Highfield, said: 'Visitors tell us that they would welcome the flexibility and convenience of holiday accommodation in the form of a resort hotel on the Minehead site.

'We are proposing a character hotel that would appeal to those with pre-school children outside school holidays, as well as families during traditional holiday periods.

'This type of hotel has worked well at our resort in Bognor Regis and we think Minehead would also benefit from a modern resort hotel that will help to turn Butlins into an all year around destination.'

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05 December 2013 3:13 PM

With shows such as the BBC's Great British Sewing Bee taking over our screens, there is no shortage of people keen to delve into the world of crafts.

And if you want to improve your technique and learn some tricks of the trade, then the annual Stitchtopia festival in Bedfordshire has all you need.

Arena Travel is offering a special five-day trip for craft fans to enjoy the festival, which runs from February 17-20 at the Wyboston Lakes hotel. Visitors will be able to take part in crochet, knitting, patchwork and quilting masterclasses, learning from experts in the field, including Stuart Hillard, star of The Great British Sewing Bee.

Knitting and bead work expert Debbie Abrahams and crochet specialist Jane Crowfoot will also be on hand to give talks, and there will be the opportunity to try out Bernina sewing machines.

Meanwhile, crafts widowers can hit the golf course or head to the swimming pool and fitness centre at the hotel, which is set in 350 acres of rolling countryside.

The break costs from £539 per person, including accommodation, classes, breakfast and dinner, and there are no single supplement charges.

23 November 2013 3:14 PM

If you fancy a theme park holiday further afield, Florida is once again proving popular with British holidaymakers.

After several lean years due to the recession, Britons are now renewing their love affair with the Sunshine State, and theme park capital Orlando in particular.

Last week, the SeaWorld group revealed record sales and profits for summer 2013, a performance driven largely by the popularity of its Orlando park. The company also runs Busch Gardens in Tampa.

SeaWorld’s newest attraction, Antarctica: Empire Of The Penguin, (pictured above) has proved a real favourite with UK visitors, earning a five-star rating from users of the UK-basedAttraction Tickets Direct website.

One of the main reasons Florida is expected to continue its strong performance next year is price. With airline Norwegian (pictured below) announcing cheap deals from Gatwick to Fort Lauderdalenext summer, rival carriers will have to compete even harder for business, and this will certainly result in better offers on both flights and package tours.

Competition is also ferocious among car hire firms and hotel groups, especially at the budgetend of the market. This means that Florida represents probably the best value for money in long-haul travel anywhere in the world.

If you are able to travel during off-peak periods, expect even more attractive deals. During January, for example, return fares to Orlando are available from £600pp return – and packages including accommodation, car hire and flight can be found from £800pp.

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The subtitle for the Secret city guides has something of TV’s League Of Gentlemen aboutit: Local Guides By Local People. But who knows a city better than those who live in it? Secret Prague (JonGlez Publishing, £13.99) is full of great sightseeing ideas and tips thatother guides may well have missed. Among the gems it guides you to are the message in the hidden palindrome on Charles Bridge, the Kabbalistic mysteries of the Jewish ghetto, a thief’s shrivelled forearm hanging in a church – and a fragment of the Great Pyramid ofCheops in a pet cemetery.

To order your copy at the special price of £11.99 with free p&p, visit mailbookshop.co.uk or call 0844 472 4157.

Forget breadmakers. Giving a loved one a lesson in baking is a brilliant Christmas gift idea.

I was slightly nervous before I tried a one-day course on creating the perfect loaf – run by Tom Herbert, one of TV’s Fabulous Baker Brothers – because my kitchen skills are rather limited. When I was eight, I could just about create cakes from a Mary Baker packet mix – and all you had to do was add water.

Based in the lovely old South Gloucestershire town of Chipping Sodbury, Hobbs House Bakery is foodie heaven. Unsurprisingly, there were some serious participants on the course – the group included 2012 Great British Bake Off contestant Cathryn Dresser – so I had reason to feel overawed. But Tom soon put us at ease as he explained the great mysteries of yeast and gluten, and under his watchful I was soon turning out loaves of sumptuous sourdough and ravishing rye.

05 November 2013 4:24 PM

Once upon a time, tattoos were the preserve of particularly hulking sailors or the sort of outré rock stars who are rarely seen without leather trousers or the cover of darkness.

But in the last few years, under-the-skin doodles have entered mainstream society – to such an extent that everyone from prancing pop mannequin Harry Styles to prime ministerial wife Samantha Cameron and TV presenter Fern Britton have been 'inked'.

So what is the next stage in this frenzy of multi-coloured body design?

Well, it is – obviously – a tattoo studio moving into a central London hotel for two days, in order to offer inventive arm art and leg logos to brave (and/or reckless) guests.

London retreat The Hoxton Hotel (see the image above) will provide this service over the weekend of 16-17 November as it invites Hackney ink lovers Vagabond Tattoo Studio into its chic confines.

To mark the occasion, tattoo fans will be able to select one of several 'exclusive' designs (see below) to have emblazoned onto their torsos – all with a London theme.

And if this doesn’t sound sufficiently exciting or daringly cutting-edge, the hotel is also running a special competition. The prize? The chance to have the words 'Hox Rocks' – which may, or may not depending on your age and taste in music, be a reference to the iconic Rolling Stones hit collection Hot Rocks – marked onto a chosen limb for life.

All would-be walking canvases need only head to the social media site of their choice – Facebook, Twitter or Instagram – and send the hotel an image of the precise place where they would like said words branded (though nowhere too intimate, The Hoxton warns).

Should this sound like your sort of thing, then the closing date is 13 November.